There is no clutch or fail safe. This excerpt from the FSM isn't there just for shits and giggles...
The dealer I bought my car from pulled the engine to put in a new clutch but never refilled the AC. Since I bought the car at the tail end of winter, I didn't even notice that it wasn't working for a couple of months. I discovered the system was completely empty and knew the compressor was probably toast, but tried to refill the system anyway.
I purchased a new evap valve and desiccant bag kit, since they should always be replaced if the system is opened and they don't cost that much. When I removed the old desiccant bag, it was completely grey and there were metal flakes in the plastic filter. The internals of the evap valve was also covered in grey metallic oily goo.
After replacing the parts and refilling the system the AC worked, but not very well. It's been about 28k miles since then and it's still technically working, but if I watch the OBD live data for the system, it can barely build 100psi on a warm day.